Patrick & Li

I received a big box in the mail today. I knew it was coming, just didnt know when. It cost my wife 225 yuan. Gosh, if i had known that.... i would never allowed her to send it. That is almost a weeks pay for her! Anyways, It was dried Longan, and Mooncake. I tried the dried Longan first as i was curious about it. It was like a huge nut shell that had to be cracked open and inside was a dried fruit that resembled something like a plum or prune. The seed was huge. Said what the heck and skinned the dried fruit off of the seed and ate it. It was quite tasty, in fact i liked it. I would love to try one fresh. I read somewhere that Florida has Longans, but no other state has them. Then i tried the Mooncake. My wife said it was very sweet, with a sweet filling inside. My inial reaction was it tasted like a Miniature Pecan pie without the pecans. And it was not near as sweet as my wife led me to believe. Truth is, it was just Okay. Nothing to write home about, but of course i will never tell her this....hahaha! "Oh darling, it was the most wonderful thing i have ever tasted"...Hahaha! Anyways, just thought i'd share that with you. On my way to Nanning in 10 days, Patrick

I will be in Nanning from Sept 26 to October 12, tell me how to get the avon and i'd be willing to help you! Patrick

Gosh i miss my wife! So, i am going back in a few weeks. I didnt plan on going back again. Figured she would be here by November, but i now know that isnt going to happen. We are stuck in NVC hell and i dont have a clue when we will get out! NVC is the worst because they dont tell ya much at that point. Day 38 at NVC and counting! Patrick

Ex-husband will not allow wife to bring son to US without him 1st changing his name. I dont understand this at all. Is this a way to exact revenge or something. He has refused to sign the paperwork allowing my stepson to move here with his mother. But lately he has said if son changes his name from LiGuanliang to Yanjunqi he will allow it and sign the paperwork. He does not support son in any way financially. He has no job and has remarried, I understand this is his only child and he is male. I just dont understand his reasons of refusal. How do i change sons name on all the paperwork, Is this going to be a problem. Does the I-130 supercede all of the other paperwork? Under the I-129f i have him listed as LiGuanLiang. I definitly want him here, He is only 10 and i am sure this will upset him dearly to be pried away from his mother. HELP!! Patrick

Congratulations Terry & Summer, Aint life grand! Thanks for all your information, Makes me better prepared. Patrick

I have sent Li the I134 affidavit of support along with a I864 just in case, the G325a has been completed. Is there anything else i can do now while i am waiting besides twiddling my thumbs? Patrick

LOL....Now that Generic! Patrick

I must admit Bob. Your timeline has worried me from the start! Maybe you ought to make a few phone calls. Patrick

When my wife and i got married in Nanning, we had to do the full physical thingy.No, didnt have to give a sperm sample. But had to do everything else! The one thing i remember the most was how much bribing was going on...LOL! My wife was passing bills and candy. We had some problems when we went to register for our marriage. Unfortunately, they wouldnt recognize my single certificate, even though it was notarized by 3 different agencies including the Chinese embassy in Washington! So my wife gave the interviewer about 500yuan inside of a bag of candy and we were told to come back later that day. When we got back, we had our documents completed and the Lady who did our interview was oh so very nice, and believe this.....She gave the money back to Li and said she was happy to be able to help! Must have had a sweet-tooth instead. LOL!! Patrick

LOL R2, Me too bro! Ni Hao was my favorite phrase. All of the children went crazy when i said it to them. My wife is 5'6" tall, which is very tall for a chinese lady. I on the otherhand am 6'6" tall, all we heard on the streets were....Ohhhhh, He is so tall and she is so small!!! We stayed at the Young Jiang hotel in late April and early May when we got married. Patrick

Yes, i agree Enight and Jim. Thanks for your imput. I expect the occasional bad words here. I thought people in China would see happiness for someone leaving there and coming to a better opportunity. Our love for each other is so strong, and we will always prevail. My number 1 priority is us and her. My family supports us and so does hers, i guess that is all that matters. Patrick

My wife is being harassed by her co-workers because she is married to a foreigner. She says they talk behind her back and whisper about her. I thought i was the only one who was going to have to deal with that crap. I am strong and don't really care what people here think, but my wife sometimes cries to me because her so called friends all talk about her now. Does anybody else here have that experience? How did ya handle it from your end? I try to be supportive, and remind her that she will be here in a few short months, and then only her true friends will remain. But it is getting more and more difficult to hear her cry about her so called friends doing her this way! BTW, My wife works in a college. Guangxi Professional College in Nanning. Patrick

LMAO!! a $300.00 dish dryer! Hey honey, Have you seen the new Dish Dryers at Best Buy? We gotta have one of those!! My wife is definitly in for one heckuva culture shock, Because i am a firm believer in doing it the easy way (the modern way) Of course i am not sure if she will use the vacuum cleaner, but what will be her choice is what is making me wonder? I wonder when they started using a hot water heater as opposed to heating it on the stove only. Paradigms are hard to let go for us all, but i sure am glad i dont have to ride an OX or a bycycle to work everyday! I just think its funny some of the things we argue about, i usually just throw my hands up and say ok, do it your way! Because it aint hurting me for her to do it that way! I love my wife, She is the best thing ever for me. I have learned a lot from her. I just want her to learn some from me! Patrick

I dont know how many times me and my wife have butted heads about this. Its not like we are mad at each other, it just doesnt make sense to me or her. Here in US, we have all of the fancy machinery for making life easier. Washing machine, dryer, dishwasher. I told my wife last week, i had to wash some clothes and would be working at it all day. Yea, i am bad about putting it off...LOL! She asked me why i didnt wash it everyday. I told her because it was a waste of time and money to wash the clothes in the machine 1 small load at a time. Of course she says NO, I mean in the washroom! She means in the sink, and hang up to dry. She thinks my clothes will stink up the house, while waiting to be washed....LMAO!! Oh man, we go back and forth on it. I know its a good problem to have, but i just cant understand the logic behind it and neither can she! Patrick

The US recognizes marriages abroad. I might be wrong on this so dont quote me. If you marry in China, you will have to then file for the K3. The k1 will no longer be valid! Patrick

LOL Tim, You just reminded me. I also wanted chocolate syrup for my coffee. I couldnt find any, But, I did find a Chocolate candy bar and used it instead. Was actually not too bad! Of course it wasnt my usual coffee, but when ur a coffee junkie like myself. Gotta have that cup in the morning or else somebody gonna pay!! LOL! Patrick

I went to China to marry Li in April of this year. Was there for 2 weeks! I went right in the middle of the SARS epidemic. All of Li's friends said i was Brave!! Hahaha, NO, I was lonely for the woman i loved! I know China is considered a 3rd world country by our Gov't. But i didnt see it while i was there. I was in Nanning and Liuzhou. Cell phones, running water, Electricity, Computers with DSL hook ups, Food was abundant. No doubt ya see some wierd things there, and lets face it. China is like a different world compared to the US. But 3rd world, Not in my opinion! My observations while in China are.... #1- I never could get myself to truly trust the food, especially the meat. I ate lots of fish and duck, a little Pork, and very little of anything that resembled beef. Feared food poisoning the most, but also had that concern about eating Dog and Cat....LOL! #2- The Toilets. Prime example...I walked into a bathroom in Guangzhou airport. I go into a stall, i realize that that hole in the floor is my destination point. Luckily, i realized there was no toilet paper. So i moved over to the next stall, no toilet paper there either. Checked them all and no toilet paper or dispensers. Hmmmm, whats the deal! So i walk back around to the sink areas looking for some paper towels. Nope, all airdryers. Then i notice it. 1 Toilet paper dispenser on the wall with 1 roll of toilet paper. So i tear off a wad and rush to that original toilet and i get my pants down and i realize something. I havent ever had to aim my butt at a hole in the floor. LMAO!! I missed on the 1st load, Sorry i know this is a bit gross but i find it so freaking funny! Moved my ass back a bit more and finally was able to find the hole, then i ran into the #2 problem. I have never had to wipe my butt in a squatting position. I mean when ya in US, ya get ur magazine, sit on the toilet, spread ur cheeks apart and relax. How do ya manage to relax when ur squatting? And how do ya get ur cheeks apart when wiping. Needless to say, after a week in China, My bowels decided to just Lock up!! #3- Taxis. Geeeeshus Christ! 2 lane road and 3 cars and 1 huge truck abreast passing all at the same time around a curve. I about lost my lunch on that occasion. Right at the last second, everybody just casually moves back into place like it was nothing. I spent my 2 weeks there just shaking my head. I stayed off of buses due to the SARS thing. #4- Traffic intersections. LMFAO everytime we came to an intersection. Is there any rhyme or reason to this? Theres gotta be, i mean zillions of cars, bycycles and busses and pedestrians all trying to turn at the same time. I never saw a single mishap but i swear i dont see how. I swaer my Taxicab driver made a wrong turn at the intersection and realized it about 1/2 way through it and did a Full circle in the middle of the intersection. I swear, approx 50 cars, 987 bycycles, 7 busses and Boukou pedestrians at this interesection and he changes his mind at the last second. Yes, i wished i had a camcorder at that moment! #5- My wife is an accountant in China. She would be considered middle class by Chinese standards. In other words she feeds herself and her son, lives in a decent BOX as i called it. And is able to put back a little money, not much but a little. Anyways, here we are walking the streets in Nanning and we run across a street vendor selling something that looked like a strawberry/grape type fruit. I stopped and looked at it because i had never seen it before. My wife told me what it was and asked me if i wanted to try it. Yea, i say! So she buys a cluster, but not before she stands there for 5 minutes arguing with the man about the price. I had been there long enough to know that we was only talking about maybe a nickel at best. They finally agree on the price and of course my wife is real happy with herself. As we trun and walk away, i slipped the man a Yuan and smiled to myself about being gratuitous. I ask my wife as we are walking how much this cluster costs and she says 1/2 yuan, She said the man wanted .60 cents for it and she had gotten him down to .50, I did the math and realized we were talking about saving a little more than 1 cent in our money and just shook my head. I still felt good about giving the man the Yuan and never told my wife. Haha! #6- While in Liuzhou, I got hit pretty hard by Panhandlers. Constantly begging me for money. My wife said because foreigners have a reputation of being rich. They were having a festival the week-end i was there. Now i dont really like the panhandlers in the US because i always feel like they probably making more money than me begging than i am working. But in China, Wow to say the least. They are very persistent. One old lady just about knocked me down after i ignored her (to my wifes insistence. She didnt like me handing out Yuans) The old woman kept banging me in the side with her cup. Finally my wife actually stopped and gave the old woman some money. Haha, I was amazed that she would do so. Chinese women are tight!! Cant think of anything else, but if i do, i will post some more. Patrick

Hey Rob, Wow!! 4 months at NVC seems like a long time to me, of course maybe i am just optimistic at this point too. I hope we all get moving to GZ soon! Patrick

Hey Tim, I know when ya buy cream here in the US it has a expiration date that lasts about 8 weeks or so, and truly it never changes. I have put it in my coffee 1 week after expiration and it was still good. But as you know, Milk here starts to curdle a few days after expiration. I was in China back in April and was dying for coffee there. Got the coffee and started looking for Cream. Pretty well nonexistent there. Like you, i just couldnt get over the thought of buying warm milk, so i ended up buying condensed milk for my coffee, which sufficed! Amazing how ya get caught up in little paradigms. Patrick

Hello everyone, I called NVC today to find out about my case. I filed K3, and they told me that they had already assigned a case number(GUZxxxxxxxxxx) and were on the last step before they forward it to Guangzhou. Of course the operator would not commit to a approximate time before it is actually sent. Does anyone have any idea about how much longer that will take? Any information is good and i appreciate your comments. Thank you very much, Patrick

Congratulations Dave. I am happy to see it starting to move around here. Patrick & Li

Hello all, Here are my timelines. This is for K-3 visa. Filed I-130 at TSC on 5-5-2003 received NOA on 5-12-2003 Filed I-129f on 5-18-2003 Received NOA on 5-27-2003 Approved at MSC on 7-17-2003 Still sitting at NVC as of today for security clearance 8-7-2003 Patrick

http://www.mediabrew.com/k3/list.php